I think I’ve mentioned this before, but in a television landscape dominated by the concept of the anti-hero, I’m very glad to also watch a show like Parenthood. It’s not emotionally draining, like Breaking Bad (for all its genius) could be. It doesn’t have gore and violence like Game of Thrones, or backstabbing like Revenge. It’s just a show, about people who love each other, and it’s warm and lovely and genuine. I like that.

I’m pleased with how this season is shaping up so far. Have we ever seen the early weeks of parenthood depicted as realistically as Crosby and Jasmine’s? Oh man, does that look exhausting. They’re exhausted and frustrated, and yet the moment where Jasmine eavesdropped on Crosby trying to get his baby daughter to take a bottle was incredibly sweet. Sometimes Jasmine comes across as too nagging and unlikable on this show, but I have liked her in the past. I liked her in that moment. It was sweet.

This show is very good and knowing what viewers are thinking. Kristina’s mayoral campaign is a long shot to say the least. It’s crazy and impulsive. But that’s been acknowledged, even now by Kristina – she finally realized that she shouldn’t spend insane amounts of money on the campaign until donations start coming in. Sarah has been a bartender, a playwright, a wannabe graphic designer, and now a photographer. She seems flighty because she is flighty, and I liked the moment where Hank truth-bombed her with that. I liked that Kristina didn’t just say “Oh yeah, sure, Sarah can take this important photo of me.”

I loved the stuff with Amber, Drew and Ryan this week, because it was funny. I love the idea that quiet, pushover Drew has this dumb bro of a roommate, so his weird sister and her intimidating fiance intervene. Ryan was the perfect mix of polite and terrifying. You knew he’d never hurt the kid, but he also had no problem scaring the crap out of the guy in order to help Drew out. It was awesome.

I’m very intrigued by the direction Zeek and Camille’s storyline is going. Zeek is flat-out refusing to sell the house, and bought a new fixer-upper car to park in the driveway. He has no interest in traveling, or living in the city. But that’s what Camille wants. How do you reconcile that? Is there a compromise? Will Camille just give in, and keep painting her own backyard? I’m fascinated.

The storyline that still feels concerning is Julia and Joel’s, but I like that for now it’s about disagreeing on Victor’s education and not the threat of infidelity. Joel wasn’t mad that Julia was confiding in another man, he was mad that the man’s wife is the school busybody. I’m reminding myself of that time on Friday Night Lights when Glenn kissed Tami, and it didn’t even cause a hiccup in her marriage because Coach and Mrs. Coach were so solid. I hope that Katims can do a similar thing here, because I’d rather see Joel and Julia’s relationship strained by how much they both care about their kids and not by outside influences. But we’ll see.